CLOSE ENCOUNTERS!

I just love 3D camo! After the mandatory Sunday off, I went back to the same place that I missed a good buck Saturday, (another thread), and sat in the same place for a couple hours as the sun came up. Nothing came through that field. It had rained Sunday and turned cold, so I thought I'd do some stalking. I eased my way up through the planted pines toward the top of the mountain. As I got top of the pines, where they meet the hardwoods, I saw movement in a sapling thicket above me. It was two little does on a trail that went across the mountain. I was on an old skidder trail that angled diagonally up the mountain and would intersect their trail about 50 yards up. I kept moving slowly, keeping an eye on the deer. I got to where they would come out of the thicket on to the trail I was on and stopped beside a tree. They came out at spitting distance and up wind of me. As they stepped into the clearing I stomped the ground and hollered "BOO". They nearly turned inside out getting out of there.
I got to the top of the mountain and did some scouting, then headed down the other side of the property on a trail that goes straight down along the fence line. Half way down there is a place where a huge Oak blew down several years ago. It overlooks a hollow that is real thick and used for bedding. From there I could see across the hollow and could see an opening between two big thickets where two old logging roads meet. I sat on a rock next to the downed Oak hoping to see some deer chasing. After an hour I got bored so I thought maybe I could make something happen with some calling. I got out my "Can" and gave a couple bleats. Before I could put the call back in my pack, a big doe came out from under the blowdown about 30 feet to my right. She looked right at me and didn't see me. Then she walked over and stopped about 12 feet in front of me looking down into the hollow. I still had my rifle in my lap so instead of trying to raise it, I just shot from the lap and hit her right behind the shoulder. She took a few steps and dropped.
I waited about 15 minutes and called again. As I turned to put the call away, I saw a small doe coming from behind me headed right at me. I just knew I was busted. Then I saw a bigger one coming behind her. It was a buck! Since the landowner wanted a deer for the freezer, I thought, if these two don't bust me, maybe I can get a shot at this buck. I knew I couldn't turn around so I sat still and waited. The doe crawled under the downed tree just like the first one did and walked to about 10-12 feet, right where i had just shot the other one. She stood there looking down into the hollow as the buck followed the same path. When he got under the tree I raised my gun. He emerged 15 feet to my right and stood there. One shot to the heart and he went down like a bag of beans and never kicked. The other doe was still standing right in front of me even after the 30-06 went off 10 feet from her! She looked straight at me again, looked back at the buck and began to groom herself. She raised her back leg and scratched behind her ear and licked her hind quarters, then slowly walked to where the first doe had fallen just down the hill from me. Then she turned and came back and called to the buck from 8 or 10 feet in front of me. She stood there a few minutes and slowly wandered down into the hollow and disappeared into the thicket.
I couldn't believe how close I was to these deer without being detected. All three of them had looked right at me from less than 10 yards and never figured out what I was. I may not have gotten the big buck I was looking for, but it was a day I'll never forget!

Sounds like a great trip, I'v been using 3-D camo for years, deer up here are fooled by it but they have a memory and if that bush wasn't there before they get jumpy.

Turkey are a different story they can not see through 3-D camo, I has working a tom in the spring that hung up on the high side of the clear cut where the pipe line comes through ( he had hens with him), and the only way for me to get to him was to cross the clear cut about 60 yards under him. He's struting back and forth, the hens are grasing, I take a step on my knees when I think I can and then freeze and worked all the way across and up though the tree line on the other side and got with in 30 yards to take that tom.

One more about deer memory, lol. I have this climbing stand I setup and was leaving it on the base of the tree when I wasn't using it, its about 20 yards off the trail where the deer cross a creek, any way I'm up in the stand winds in my favor and here comes 2 does, they cross the creek and the lead doe hits the brakes, and looks right at the base of the tree i'm in, she looks around in my direction and then right back to my tree. She getting real nervous and then she started at the base and looked up at me, she found the stand with me in it and both bolted.

Yea, Kenny, 3-D is great. I usually wear a head net and gloves but even without them on, these deer never knew I was there. I was sitting in plain sight on a big rock looking for a 100 yard shot across the hollow. I never expected them to come from behind me. Luckily the wind was in my favor. I was hunting a cross wind.

The FIRST time I spent a a good amount on camo I sat under a pine tree for about 30 minutes when a chipmunk cam out of a hole about 10yds from me. I had snapped off a few sticks and placed them around me when I got there and he climbed up and sat on my knee for about 1-2 minutes climbed down, picked up some more food and came right back up on my knee. I do not tell many people because I do not even believe it.
It is AWSOME that you had your experience. I watched two does one year for about an hour and they were within 5-10yds of me the whole time.